“I don’t know,” Jade said. “I don’t know that something could be hidden there. I feel like there should be something more specific. We’re onto something, but we’re missing a critical piece.”
Saul picked up his laptop that he had left running on the bedside table, and clicked on the icon for internet access.
“We have the number seven connection. I guess now we need the solstice connection.” His frown quickly turned to a smile. “Aha! There’s a flat area up on the mountain where the Utes hold sacred dances, get this, in conjunction with the solstice! That’s got to be it!”
Something did not ring true for Dane, but he didn’t have a better idea. “Can we get up there?”
“It says you have to have permission from the tribe, and be escorted to the top,” Saul replied. “We can get around that, can’t we?”
“I’ve never been there,” Dane said. “I don’t know what’s around there or if we can even get close to it.”
“Let’s try and do it the honest way,” Jade said. “I’ll make some calls tomorrow and see what I can arrange. If we can’t work it out, we’ll decide what to do next.”
“What? You’re going to ask some Ute bigwig if you can take a shovel and metal detector and maybe dig up their sacred dance floor? Yeah, that’s really gonna’ work,” Saul sneered.
Jade pressed her palms to her temples. “Saul…”
“I know. The decision is yours. But I’m registering my objections, okay?” He shut down his laptop and snapped it closed. “I’m gonna’ grab something to eat, then hit the sack. I assume we’re heading out early tomorrow?” He didn’t wait for Jade’s answer, stalking out of the room and closing the door just hard enough to make it obvious that it was intentional.
“I feel like I’m teaching Junior High,” Jade groaned, falling down on the bed. “Maybe if this all works out, if we can solve the mystery, I won’t need the backing anymore.”
Taking a chance, Dane sat down on the bed next to her. He pulled her hands away from her head, and began massaging her temples with his fingertips. Her satisfied groans sounded like purring, and set his nerves on an excited edge. Forcing himself to go slowly, he massaged her scalp, her neck, then her shoulders. Gradually the tension drained from Jade’s face, and was replaced by a satisfied smile. His fingertips trailed down her sides, stroked her stomach, and slowly made the climb up her taut belly. She breathed deeply. He ran his hands up her sides and across her chest. Propping on one elbow, he stroked her cheek and leaned in close, his lips close enough to feel her breath…
…His ears close enough to hear her snoring.
Chuckling, he carefully rolled off the bed and let himself quietly out of the room. Would his luck with women never change?
Chapter 11
Dane rose early and enjoyed a long, quiet jog in the dim light of dawn. He did his best thinking when he was on the move, keeping his body and mind in sync. Something about Sleeping Ute Mountain did not seem right to him. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but he had always been one to listen to his instincts, and right now they were telling him that something was just a little bit off. Returning to his room, he unwound with a hot shower, then sat down to do a little research. By the time Jade appeared at his door he was on to something, but she was in no mood to hear about it.
“Saul is gone,” she said, handing him a slip of note paper. “He left this at the front desk for me. I’m going to kill him.”
‘Jade,’ the note read, ‘I rented a car. Had some things to take care of. Don’t worry about me. I’ll call you this afternoon and we’ll reconnect. Saul’
“He isn’t answering his phone. All of his things are gone.”
“Did he take the artifact?” Dane asked before he could stop himself. Though constantly annoyed with Saul, Jade was often touchy about criticism directed toward her assistant.
“Of course not,” Jade snapped. “It was in my room.” She dropped heavily into one of the leather padded chairs, picked up the remote and turned on the television. “Do you mind?”
Dane wasn’t much for TV at any time of the day, but given the mood she was in, this was not the hill he wanted to die on.
“I guess we should go on as planned,” he said. “Saul did say that he would catch up with us later. We can find rooms near Cortez and…”
“Hush!” Jade said, holding up a hand. She had stopped on a local news program. Behind the reporter was an image of Sleeping Ute Mountain.
“…morning Ute Tribal Police arrested a man for trespassing on restricted tribal land. The suspect was reportedly trying to gain access to a sacred dance floor on Sleeping Ute Mountain. No motive….”
“Bloody hell!” Jade articulated the words as only an incensed woman can. She turned off the television and dropped the remote onto the table. “One guess who they arrested. What an idiot.”
“I guess there’s no point in me suggesting that maybe it wasn’t him?” Dane asked with an utter absence of sincerity. He had disliked Saul almost on sight, and nothing the man had done since then had convinced him otherwise. This stunt was exactly what Dane would expect of the man.
“Not if you want me to continue respecting your intelligence,” Jade said. “In one fell swoop the moron has killed any chance of us checking out the dance floor.”
“I’m not sure we’ll need to,” Dane said. Jade’s expression was unreadable, so he hurried on with his explanation before it became a book he didn’t want to open. “I didn’t feel right about the dance floor. There’s nothing to indicate that particular area was used for solstice dances at the time of Fray Marcos. Also, it’s not just solstices and equinoxes that are significant. I think the sun itself is important. Remember the sunbursts on the shield, and the fact that the first piece was hidden in a place where the sun’s rays actually strike on the solstice?”
“I’m listening,” Jade said in a flat tone that hopefully indicated abating anger and rising interest. She sat with her arms folded beneath her breasts, her legs crossed, tapping her foot in fierce rhythm.
“I did some searches on the terms ‘Sleeping Ute Mountain,’ ‘solstice,’ and ‘equinox.’ I had to do some digging, but I found a likely spot. It’s called Yucca House.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Neither had I. It’s a site that’s fallen into ruin. The National Park Service maintains control of it, but it’s out in the middle of nowhere with no facilities or anything, just an occasional ranger making a drive-by. Anyway, it lies between Mesa Verde and Sleeping Ute Mountain. From there, you have a perfect view of the foot of Sleeping Ute Mountain.” He thought Jade sat up a little straighter. “Supposedly, if you stand in the right place on the date of the equinox, the sun sets right on the tip of the Sleeping Ute’s toe.”
“It sounds… promising,” Jade said. Her toe had stopped tapping and she was now gripping the arms of her chair and leaning slightly forward. “It’s not like we have anywhere else to go at the moment.”
“Remote location,” Dane added, his convictions strengthened by her interest, “few visitors, and best of all; it’s never been excavated.”
“All right,” Jade said, sounding unconvinced. “Let’s give it a try.”
Saul parked the car in a dense thicket of cottonwood and snakeweed, killed the engine, and double-checked the topographical chart he had printed out at the library. This appeared to be the right place. He took a long look around before exiting the car. He was crazy to try this, but it was necessary. If the Ute police caught him twice in one day, no way would they let him go again.